Chapter 2 Fear Or Not

Dylan's POV

I got into my Audi with Shin Oh and Tara after picking up their bags from the orphanage and we headed to the loft.

Tara and Shin Oh were excited as hell to start their new life.

But to tell the truth, Shin Oh had a hard time separating from her brother a year ago. Luckily for him, Tara was there to support her.

Shin Oh and Min Oh had been taken in at a young age when they arrived in America. The authorities had found them with other immigrants in a container in Los Angeles to be sold.

The good news in their story was that they were able to join us in this orphanage where all of us had created a very strong bond.

Tara joined us after her parents were murdered by a gang when she was 10 years old.

When she arrived at the orphanage, she was a real bundle of nerves and kept to herself. She didn't talk to anyone, and when someone bothered her, she would throw a tantrum and break everything in her path.

I was the first one to get close to her when we found this puppy abandoned on the way to school. That was when I met sweet Tara, cute and sensitive, and I loved her.

"Are we there yet?" Shin Oh asked, snapping me out of my daydreams.

"We arrived," I confirmed.

So I stopped in front of the 10-story building where the loft was located.

"Wow!" The girls shouted in excitement as they got out of the car.

"Wait, let me help you."

"No, thanks, I'm fine. Help Shin Oh with her bags instead."

Tara took her three bags and walked towards the front door while I helped Shin Oh with her six bags. 'Damn! This girl has a real wardrobe.'

We took the elevator to the 10th floor where the loft was located.

"Welcome!" Isabella shouted as she opened the door. Her excited shout startled Tara, who was standing closer to the door.

"You're crazy!"

Isabella grabbed a bag from Tara's hand and hugged her before letting us into the loft.

Tara's POV

"Wow, it's super big!" I exclaimed as I admired the place.

There was a small hallway that led to a kitchen and a large living room, not to mention the large windows that lit up the entire room.

"So girls, how do you like your new home?" Isabella asked.

"Great! I love it!" Shin Oh shouted.

With her small size, she looked like a child in awe of her Christmas present.

"What about you, Tara?" Dylan asked me.

His blue eyes were waiting for me to confirm that I was as amazed as Shin Oh.

"Great! There's nothing to say! You managed!"

"Dylan was the one who found it. Besides, we have eight rooms, so there's plenty of room," Isabella completed. "Shin Oh, come on, I'll show you your room,"

Dylan said as he ran his hand through his beautiful blonde hair. He was really embarrassed, I could confirm that.

I smiled when I saw him like that.

"I don't get any credit for this; this loft belongs to my mother. It's part of her legacy."

Dylan's mother died when he was one year old. He had no memories or photos of her. He had been dropped off at the orphanage with no information.

That day, he was left in his car seat outside the door with documents and an account book that he could use when he turned sixteen.

Dylan's face scrunched up for a moment at the memory of his mother. Noticing this, I walked over to him and gave him a hug. He hugged me in turn and we stayed like that for a while.

It was our way of comforting each other, but it was mostly him who had been comforting me like that since I was a little girl and even though I didn't like it before. Now, I couldn't help hugging him. I felt calm in his arms.

"When are you going to show me my room?" I asked.

"Fine, miss!" he said, while stepping back.

"Gotcha again, chief, not miss!" I laughed as I grabbed my bags. Then I followed him to the door where Shin Oh and Isabella walked through.

The rooms were beautiful as one could have imagined. They hadn't decorated them, and explained that they had to stop Isabella and her desires to decorate them.

Isabella had studied decorating and was working part time at a club as a waitress.

Connor and Min Oh joined us for dinner and we made the decision to have a housewarming party over the weekend now that the six of us were finally together.

Tyler's POV

It had been two days since I had been to school.

My dad didn't come home as planned, and my mom had a breakdown, so I had to stay with her to calm her down.

On the third day, I finally showed up at the school. I parked the Yamaha in the school parking lot and joined the class.

"Mr. Hale, you finally deign to show up."

Disregarding the professor's remark, I scanned the class without answering and removed my glasses.

Tara didn't even spare me a glance. Instead, she seemed absorbed in contemplation by the window. There was an empty seat behind her. I sat there under the hateful gaze of her Korean friend sitting next to her.

My phone buzzed. It was Jackson, who was sitting on the opposite side of the classroom.

"Ready to attack?" he wrote.

I put my cell phone away, turned around, and upon noticing my smirk, he and Evan started laughing.

I spent the first hour with my head propped up on my bench, staring at the back of my new prey.

Her brown, curly hair glistened in the glow of the sunlight streaming in through the window. She was propped up on her left elbow, listening to the teacher without noticing my presence.

I took my pen and gently grabbed one of those long curls hanging down her back. She flinched on the spot and turned to me. She looked at me with her big blue eyes and turned away again, as if she wasn't interested.

"Pssss..." I whispered.

She didn't react, but my action earned me a hateful look from her friend who turned furiously to me.

"What?" I snapped. Then she turned back to her.

I picked up my pen and grabbed a curl of that hair again. Once again, she flinched, but she didn't turn around.

She grabbed her elastic band attached to her wrist and pulled her hair into a wild bun.

It wasn't long before I heard Jackson laugh. Embarrassed, I put my head back on the table.

"Psss...Psss...Why are you ignoring me?"

Her friend pretended to turn around, but she put her hand on her arm, looking at her and shaking her head.

I straightened up and decided to give up. I had to try something else. Maybe I needed to attack head-on.

Later, the bell rang. I waited for them to move, and when her friend got up, I got in between them and faced her.

I was surprised by those beautiful blue eyes that looked at me again without fear.

This girl was not shy.

Tara's POV

I didn't expect Tyler to be so close to me all of a sudden. In response, I raised my eyes to glare at him.

'Damn, look at those intense green eyes! I need to get my act together, ' I reminded myself inwardly as I was already losing my mind.

"What are you doing? Move!" I blurted out.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked me.

Just then, his green eyes became really intense. They were really beautiful. 'I must look away quickly.'

With that, I turned my head looking at Shin Oh and tried to duck out of the way, but he interposed his arm to stop me.

"I just wanted to excuse Jackson's attitude," he explained as he leaned closer to me.

We were really too close at that moment.

"He doesn't have to apologize to me," I answered without looking up. 'And I don't care about your apologies!' I said inwardly.

I pushed his arm, joined Shin Oh and we hurried out of the classroom.

"What did he want?" she asked me, worried.

"To make excuses," I replied briefly while rushing to try to be farther away from him as much as possible. As I was rushing, we heard the sound of a chair moving in the classroom.

We went to the hall where the smoking room was located. There were Dylan and Connor.

I didn't even try to look Dylan in the eye, because he was reading me like an open book and I didn't want to worry him.

"Tara, what do you want to eat for dinner?" Connor asked me.

I didn't answer. I just tried to calm down. Tyler was really going to ruin my life. Yet for a moment, I almost fell for his intense green eyes.

"Tara..."

Dylan's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yes?"

What a mistake! I looked up and saw Tyler staring at me behind Dylan. Despite his dark glasses, I could clearly see from his posture that it was me he was looking at.

I flinched. Even Dylan, who was approaching me, stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at Tyler and the others. Then his worried blue eyes turned back to me. 'I have to get my act together, ' I reminded myself.

"What happened?" he asked me as he placed his hand on my arm.

"Nothing serious; don't worry,"

I tried to answer with a smile. But since I didn't believe what I was saying myself, it was clear that Dylan didn't believe me.

"He apologized," Shin Oh intervened.

Dylan and Connor looked at each other for a brief moment, before the former's blue eyes returned to me. Tyler was also staring at me.

"Stay away from him," Dylan whispered in a worried voice.

I looked at him in amazement. 'Does he really look worried? But why?' I couldn't help but wonder.

He ran his hand over my cheek and in an instant, his warm hand soothed me.

"It's time to get back to class. See you in the cafeteria."

"Let's go to gym class!" Shin Oh exclaimed cheerfully.

Tyler's POV

"What kind of relationship does he have with that Dylan?" I asked.

Edward lowered his head like he wasn't interested in the question and walked towards the gym class without us.

"That's his girl, I bet!" Evan exclaimed as he jumped off the low wall.

'It's possible. They're really close and he's touching her without a care in the world, ' I concluded inwardly.

Jackson stubbed out his cigarette and jumped off the wall too.

"You want me to find out? It'd be nice if you could steal his girlfriend away from him!" He smirked.

Indeed, his pretentious handsome face had been bothering me since the first day.

We had gym class with the girls. That day, it was volleyball. I had no desire to play these stupid games. With that, I stood in the back of the room, my phone in my hand.

"Mr. Hale, we're waiting for you!" yelled the teacher.

I raised my head, ready to screw him up when I saw Tara on the team, waiting for me.

"Interesting!" I said as I stood up.

Jackson and Evan were on the other team. It was already looking interesting.

So I settled in the back to start delivering the ball with one eye on Tara, who was standing in front of the net between Brenda and Kelly.

'Those little black shorts really show off her shape, ' I remarked inwardly.

Indeed, I was very good at sports. I delivered the ball cleanly, without any problems, but on the return of the ball, Kelly and Brenda sandwiched Tara from getting the ball and she dropped it.

"Sorry," they simply said.

I laughed as I watched her get up and clench her fist against her hip.

Then I began to imagine how it would all end.

We played for fifteen minutes without a care in the world until Jackson sent a smash straight to Tara's shoulder.

With that, Jackson got a bad look on his face, which was not a good sign. He hadn't processed what had happened in the cafeteria, and knowing him, Tara still had more bullets to take in her face.

I watched Tara take four smashes from Jackson and throw them back at him, which made Jackson even more upset. Brenda and Kelly were laughing their asses off in front and backing up as soon as I delivered the ball to make sure they didn't take Jackson's cannon shots.

At the side change, I glanced at Tara, whose wrists and hands were quite red.

I looked in Jackson's direction. His eyes were still raging and knowing him, he wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.

We played again for ten minutes, during which time Tara continued to receive Jackson's cannonballs but could no longer contain them. I slowly began to get fed up with his attitude.

"Sir! Can I switch places with Tara?" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me, surprised, except Tara, who didn't even bother to turn around.

"Go to the back!" I told her.

"What are you meddling with?" she spat.

Her blue eyes were filled with tears and rage. I noticed her lip was bleeding.

"Don't mess around; he's really going to hurt you!"

"Well, let him do it. I'm not chickening out," she ranted.

I was surprised. Was she really stubborn or did she really want to die from his blows?

"Brenda, move!" I said, looking at Jackson.

"But if she..."

I turned around and she understood right away and shut her mouth.

We resumed the game where I interfered with all of Jackson's smashes, which started to irritate him.

"Damn it, Tyler. You're a pain in the ass!" he yelled, furious.

Then in the middle of the game, he switched places before I had a chance to understand. Then all of a sudden, Tara caught the ball in her face and collapsed in shock.